From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Peter Coates
Peter Coates
Peter Coates Owner of Stoke City F.C.
Born 13 January 1938 (1938-01-13)
Goldenhill, Stoke-on-Trent First Period (1989-1997)
Occupation Businessman In 1989 Peter Coates became majority shareholder at
Chairman of: Stoke City F.C.. He was chairman of Stoke City F.C. until
Stoke City F.C. 1997 before stepping down. During this period the club
Bet365
were relegated to the old Football League Third Division,
Net worth £750 million[1] were promoted from the now renamed Second Division
to the First Division and moved to the Britannia Stadium.
Spouse Deirdre
In 1990 the Stoke City F.C. board consisted of six di-
Children 4 rectors and it was agreed that a new share issue was
needed. with the majority wanting the supporters to be
Peter Coates (born 13 January 1938 in Goldenhill, Stoke- free to purchase. Following disagreements regarding this
on-Trent) is a businessman and current owner of the share issue, several board members left and the board
Stoke City Football Club. He has been listed as the 25th then consisted of Peter Coates, Keith Humphreys and
richest person in British football.[2] He founded Bet365 in David Edwards.
2000, as well as Signal Radio in 1983. In 1997, following poor on pitch performances, he
was the subject of protests by the club’s fans and sub-
Early business dealings sequently stepped down. He remained a majority share-
holder, whilst Keith Humphreys was appointed chair-
Stoke-on-Trent born and bred, Coates left school at age man. In 1999, a group of Icelandic businessmen formed
fourteen to work in an office. He served in the Parachute a consortium to buy the football club. The consortium
Regiment for his National Service. Out of the service he Stoke Holding SA (financially based in Luxembourg) paid
rose to become a regional manager at Wimpy restau- around £3.5 million.[5] The deal was completed on 15
rants, before founding Stadia Catering - a catering firm November 1999.
specializing in servicing football grounds. His company
merged with Lindley Catering, and he was the company’s Second Period (2005-present)
chair from 1968 to 2001. He also founded Signal 1 in 1983.
In 2005, Stoke Holding discussed the possibility of selling
the club back to Peter Coates. The consortium had
Bet365 planned to get to the club into the Premiership within
bet365 was founded in 2000 in a portakabin in Stoke-on- the first 5 years, but the financial implications had
Trent by the Coates family, led by his daughter Denise. proved more challenging than they anticipated. At this
Denise developed a sports betting platform and trading time Tony Pulis who had become friends with Peter
team to launch the business online in March 2001. The Coates was given a new contract and then sacked 4 weeks
business borrowed £15 million from RBS against the fam- later. A new manager, Johan Boskamp, was appointed. He
ily’s betting shop estate which had been started by Peter remained at the club for one season and then left.
Coates in 1974. bet365 sold its betting shop chain in 2005 At the end of the 2005-06 season Stoke Holding and
for £40 million and paid off its loan to RBS [3]. bet365 has Peter Coates once again started discussions regarding the
grown into one of the world’s largest online gambling sale of the club to the latter. On 23 May 2006, the Coates
companies with its reported figures to March 2010 show- family through a bet365 subsidiary company completed
ing amounts wagered on Sports at £5.4 billion, revenues the purchase of Stoke City F.C. for £1.7 million.[6] A fur-
of £358 million, and an operating profit of £104 million[4]. ther £3.3 million was paid to have the Icelandic debts
Peter Coates holds the position of Chairman of bet365. cancelled.[7] Shortly afterwards, Tony Pulis was reap-
Denise Coates, Joint Chief Executive, continues to run pointed. The Golden Shares were also removed.[8]
bet365 with her brother, John, alongside her. At the end of the 2007-08 season Stoke finished Se-
cond in the Championship, the second division of the
English League, entitling them to automatic promotion
to the English Premiership.
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Peter Coates
Speaking at the Football Governance Inquiry he said: [5] "The Icelandic Connection". Archived from the
"I am a Stoke boy, I have supported the club since I was original on October 8, 2006.
a boy and I have had two comings at Stoke-an early one http://web.archive.org/web/20061008090601/
in 1985, after which I sold the club to an Icelandic con- http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~djandyp/
sortium and then bought it back again in about five years stokecity/stoke_ice.htm. Retrieved December 10,
ago this summer. I bought it back again against my better 2006.
judgment, in some ways, and my family’s, who all [6] "BBC Stoke & Staffordshire - Coates back at Stoke
thought I was daft to do it. The club was in a mess at City’s helm". http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/
the time and I thought I could help it and do things for content/articles/2006/05/26/
it, and I was a bit disappointed with my previous time, local_tv_archive_coates_back_at_stoke_city_0506_feature.shtml.
a there was little bit of unfinished business about it and Retrieved December 10, 2006.
all that sort of thing. But I thought it would be important [7] "Stoke City FC Official Site - Chairman’s Blueprint".
for the area if the football club were doing well. Stoke http://www.stokecityfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/
was having a difficult time. It has lost the pot banks and NewsDetail/0,,10310~832463,00.html. Retrieved
the mining industry. I thought that if Stoke could get December 10, 2006.
in the Premier League it would give the place a lift and [8] "Stoke City FC Official Site - United Strength".
would be good for it. I think that that has happened, I http://www.stokecityfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/
am pleased to say."[9] He was awarded honorary degrees NewsDetail/0,,10310~867690,00.html. Retrieved
from Staffordshire University in 2008, and Keele Univer- December 10, 2006.
sity in 2011.[10] [9] "UNCORRECTED TRANSCRIPT OF ORAL EVIDENCE".
parliament.uk.
References http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/
cm201011/cmselect/cmcumeds/uc792-iii/
[1] "Stoke City chairman 90th wealthiest man – and uc79201.htm. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
daughter on rich list too". thisisstaffordshire.co.uk. [10] McInnes, Kathie (4 June 2011). "Stoke City
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Stoke-City- chairman Peter Coates earns honorary degree". The
chairman-90th-wealthiest-man-8211-daughter- Sentinel. http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/
rich-list/story-12564963-detail/story.html. news/Degree-honour-football-chairman/
Retrieved 22 June 2011. article-3627739-detail/article.html. Retrieved 4
[2] "This is Staffordshire - COATES TAKES HIS PLACE June 2011.
AMONG THE BIG PLAYERS". Persondata
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/
Name Coates, Peter
displayNode.jsp?nodeId=158338&command=displayContent&sourceNode=158321&contentPK=16129697&moduleName=Interna
Retrieved December 10, 2006. Alternative names
[3] "A Very Private Practice". Short description Businessman, football chairman
http://www.egrmagazine.com/ Date of birth 13 January 1938
newsexclusive_a_very_private_practice. Retrieved
06 October 2011. Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent
[4] "A Very Private Practice". Date of death
http://www.egrmagazine.com/ Place of death
newsexclusive_a_very_private_practice. Retrieved
06 October 2011.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Coates&oldid=454362311"
Categories:
• Living people
• People from Goldenhill
• People from Stoke-on-Trent
• English football chairmen and investors
• Stoke City F.C. directors and chairmen
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